William Turvill
Daily Mail
October 25, 2013
A student has sparked outrage by declaring his intentions to lose his virginity in front of a crowd – in the name of art.
Clayton Pettet, 19, is to have gay sex for the first time in a gallery full of spectators for his ‘Art School Stole My Virginity’ project.
Mr Pettet, who has not yet told his parents about his plan, believes the ‘performance art project’ will earn him rave reviews for challenging the idea of sexuality.
The performance is set to take place in front of 50-100 people in a space in Hackney, East London.
Mr Pettet and a friend will engage in safe sex and then ask the audience what they made of the performance.
But the second-year student at Central Saint Martins art school has been accused of cheapening sex and art.
He has been planning the event, which is set to take place on January 25, for three years.
Mr Pettet said: ‘The key thing about performance art is that it should only be performed once, and this is the ultimate once-in-a-lifetime performance.
‘I’ve held on to my virginity for 19 years, and I’m not throwing it away lightly. Basically it’s like I am losing the stigma around virginity.